Sous Chef - Airline Catering

Since 1942, SkyChefs has taken culinary excellence to new heights. As a trusted partner to the nation’s leading airlines and retailers, we deliver millions of meals and exceptional service experiences every year across 43 sites throughout the United States. Built on a legacy of operational excellence, culinary expertise, and continuous innovation, we set the industry standard in aviation culinary, airline services, last-mile logistics, and retail commerce. Our teams work together to deliver quality, reliability, and service at every altitude.

About the role

We are seeking a highly driven Sous Chef to join our culinary leadership team, reporting directly to the Executive Chef. This role is ideal for a hands-on leader with commercial food production experience who thrives in a fast-paced, high-volume environment and is passionate about both operational excellence and culinary innovation. You will share oversight of production for premium airline catering, ensuring meals are executed to the highest standards of quality, consistency, and food safety. You’ll lead and develop team members in collaboration with the Executive Chef.

Work location: onsite at our SkyChefs kitchen facility near Austin Bergstrom Airport.

Responsibilities

• Executes and supervises food production activities (cleaning, cutting, marinating, seasoning, cooking).
• Assumes responsibilities of Executive Chef when unavailable (e.g., vacation, off-days, menu presentations to customers).
• Supervises, coordinates, and controls kitchen helpers in food storage (maintaining tidiness, following first-in-first-out principle).
• Conducts, coordinates, and supervises inventories.
• Monitors material consumption and orders required food and equipment daily to satisfy production plans.
• Participates in the development of food products and menus for presentations.
• Updates catering manuals as needed and executes countermeasures for customer complaints.
• Supports training of kitchen staff.
• Maintains and monitors hygiene, health, and safety standards, ensuring HACCP regulations are followed.
• Conducts quality control checks and ensures compliance with recipe specifications.
• Conducts quality checks of goods received.
• Ensures the area of responsibility is properly organized, staffed, and directed.
• Guides, motivates, and develops subordinate employees within HR policies.
• Implements and controls the cost budget; initiates corrective actions for deviations.
• Participates in company initiatives such as Global Quality Standard (GQS), HACCP, and Lean Manufacturing.

Requirements

• Formal Culinary Degree or equivalent (Apprenticeship, Culinary-Related Military Training, ACF Certification).
• 3+ years of experience in culinary operations.
• Strong knowledge of HACCP, food safety, and sanitation standards.
• Bilingual highly preferred.
• Union experience a plus.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple production priorities in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• Understanding of financial controls (e.g., keeping food costs within budget, controlling stock levels, minimizing waste).
• Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills.
• Service-oriented mindset with an entrepreneurial spirit.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Windows-based computer applications.

Schedule

Work 5 consecutive days on and have 2 consecutive days off. Must be flexible to work early mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed to support 24/7, 365 operations.

Pay

$57,000.00 - $71,000.00 per year.

Benefits

Available from day 1 of employment—no waiting period.